Kindred Spirits
by stephbro
Summary: Mark is in the park filming, and he happens on a pretty redhead. Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover MarkWillow
1. Chapter 1

Well, this is my first RENT fiction, so be kind.

One day the idea came to me that I'd love to see my two favorite Jewish characters get together so I thought I'd play with this a bit. Let me know what you think! Also, one thing I kinda played with was the time period. It's about a year after the series finale of Buffy, as well as a year after the events of RENT. BUT they're taking place at the same time. So, let's pretend that RENT happened a bit in the future (but to keep with the story lines, things aren't going to change much for RENT, for example, the HIV issue) Also, the title might (and probably will) change when I can come up with something better, and perhaps a bit more creative...

MarkWillow, as well as all the other pairings seen in either Buffy or RENT.

Also, I don't own. I rent...borrow...use as play toys in my fantasy land. All will be returned to their respective owners relatively unharmed and no worse for the wear :-D

**Once More With Feeling**

"Zoom in on the elderly couple enjoying the day in the park," Mark said quietly as he focused his camera on the unknowing pair across the park. Elderly couples in love had always intrigued Mark. There was hope there.

He looked around the park, keeping his camera on the couple. He breathed in the cool September air as he took in his surroundings.

A small group of kids playing some sort of game. A woman walking her dog. A young couple pushing a stroller.

Then he saw her and without thinking changed the focus of his camera lens to her. A young woman with fiery red hair walking along the sidewalk of the park. She was striking and walked with confidence. Mark was captivated by her.

He watched as she crossed the street and out of his line of vision. He quickly packed the stuff he had into his bag and got up to follow her. By the time he got to the street corner, the redhead was no where to be seen.

He sighed and hefted his bag over his head and began his walk back to the loft.

Judging by the quiet in the room, Roger was likely downstairs at Mimi's. Mark dropped his bag on the couch and took his camera out, and went to looking over his days footage, though the thoughts of the redhead kept interupting his work. He paused on an image of her.

He didn't know what it was about her. Sure, she was gorgeous, but he'd seen plenty of gorgeous women before that didn't strike him quite so hard.

"That thing will permanently attach itself to your hand, you're not careful." Mark jumped, shutting off the film and turning around to see Roger and Mimi coming in through the window.

"Heeey, guys." he said, trying to sound casual. Like he wasn't just staring at some mystery woman he'd caught on film. They both looked at him strangely but didn't say anything.

"Get anything good today?" Mimi asked.

"Haven't really gotten a change to go through it all yet."

"Ooh, can I see it?" Mark smiled. Mimi loved to watch his raw footage.

"Sure, let me get it to the beginning." Mimi smiled and she and Roger curled together on the couch.

Mark wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to show them his last shot.

No.

He wanted to keep her to himself. At least for now.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next week, Mark found himself at the park again, and everyday he'd see the redhead walk past. 

He watched her, but refrained from filming her again. He didn't want to be creepy.

He also never talked to her. He contented himself with just watching. He often wondered where she was going. What she was going in this part of town. Did she live there? He doubted it. Though her clothes were somewhat of a mix between Mimi and Maureen's styles, she didn't have the "alphabet-city-look".

Everything about her was a mystery.

* * *

On Friday, Mark parked his bike outside the Life Café and walked in. He smiled when he saw his friends, and went to join them, offering a greeting as he removed his scarf and coat. He looked around the restaurant and stopped when he saw a familiar flash of red.

She was sitting near the wall, by herself, with a laptop and a cup of tea.

"Mark...earth to Mark." he heard Roger say and realized he'd been staring.

"Yeah?" he asked. Mimi laughed.

"Her name is Willow." she said. Mimi had quit the Cat Scratch Club not long after last Christmas and got a job working at the Life, waitressing. "She's been coming here for about a week and a half."

He looked back to her. Eager to see how this new information fit her. Willow. It was perfect. Unique. Beautiful.

"Marky's got a crush?" he heard Maureen ask, playfully. He rolled his eyes at her. So much for kepping his mysterious redhead to himself.

"Go talk to her." Roger urged. Mark shook his head as he sat down.

"I don't thin..." he was cut off by Mimi taking his hand.

"I'll introduce you." she said, dragging him over to Willow. Dragging being the operative word, until he reluctantly stood beside Mimi in front of Willow.

"Hey Willow." Mimi said, causing Willow to look up from her computer, green eyes warming when she saw Mimi.

"Hi Mimi."

"Can I get you another tea?"

"No, I'm okay. Thanks." she smiled, making her face that much more beautiful.

"This is my friend, Mark. Mark, this is Willow." Mimi introduced, then abruptly left, leaving Mark alone with her. He laughed nervously.

"Hi Mark." she said, the smile never leaving her face, though she was obviously confused.

"Mind if I...?" He asked, gesturing to the empty side of the booth.

"No, go ahead." she said, closing her computer. He sat down and wiped his hands on his pants. Mark glanced over to his friends and realized Roger had his camera out and was pointing it at them. Mark made sure he shot a glare directly into the lens. He looked back at Willow and saw that she noticed the camera as well. Mark smiled apologetically. "So, Mark. What do you do?"

"I'm a, uh, filmmaker. A documentarian, really." he answered, glancing back to Roger. "You?"

"I'm a teacher." Mark looked back at her, into her eyes.

"Really? NYU?"

"No, actually. A new school. The Tara McLay WCI School for Girls."

"I heard about that school opening. About three months ago, right?" Willow nodded, her eyes occasionally making their way over to Roger. Mark could tell it was making her uncomfortable. "Wanna go for a walk, maybe a bit more private." he offered. She smiled and glanced at her watch.

"Sure, but I gotta be back by one. I'm meeting a friend."

"Okay, I just gotta grab my coat." Mark walked back over to his friends and glared at all their smiling faces and Roger, who was still filming.

"Close up. Mark Cohen with the first girl since forever."

Mark grabbed his coat and scarf, decidedly ignoring Roger's comment, and walked back over to Willow, giving her a smile. They walked out of the Café together.

"Brr...I'll never get used to this weather." Willow said, wrapping her arms around herself.

"It's not too bad. Wait until December." Mark smiled, shoving his own hands into his pockets, laughing when Willow groaned. "Where are you from?"

"California, really. But I've spent the last year or so in England."

"Ah, no wonder you don't like the cold. You're a 'California girl'" Willow playfully hit him with her shoulder, causing him to stumble a little.

"I don't think I qualify for the term 'California girl' My friend, Buffy, maybe."

"Buffy definitely sounds like a 'California girl' name." Willow laughed.

"Can't let her fool you though. She's a lot smarter than people give her credit for." They walked in a companionable silence for a bit before Willow spoke up again. "So, you're a filmmaker? Done anything I would have seen?"

"Um. My documentary about AIDS, 'Today 4 U' has been shown in a couple places." Mark offered, though doubted she would have seen it.

"Doesn't sound familiar. Maybe you could show it to me sometime."

"Yeah, maybe." Mark, smiled, looking down to hide his blush.

"So, how do you know Mimi?" she asked.

"She lives in the apartment below mine and is dating my roommate slash best friend, Roger...the one with the camera." He told her. She nodded in understanding.

"How long have you lived in New York?"

"Couple of years. Moved here with my camera to live la vie bohème" Mark said, with a hint of melodrama, causing Willow to giggle.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to living in such a big city."

"It can be a bit scary." Mark said, understanding.

"Oh, it's not scary. After Sunnydale, scary is pretty much a nonissue. It's just that it's so big. Kind of overwhelming."

Sunnydale, Sunnydale, where had Mark heard that before.

"Sunnydale? Isn't that the town that sank into a huge crater about a year back?"

"Yep."

"Shit, you lived there?"

"Born and raised. My friends and I were some of the last to get out of there."

"Wow." they continued in silence again before Mark glanced down at his watch. 1:15. "Didn't you say you needed to be back by one?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked, looking down at her own watch, she gave a little laugh. "Ah well, Faith can wait, but we should start heading back." she didn't seem in too big of a hurry and Mark took that as a good sign.

They got back to the Life about ten minutes later.

"Um, before we go in and chaos ensues, do you want to get together sometime?" Mark asked, before he even thought about it. But before he could regret it Willow answered.

"I'll be here tomorrow again, around seven. Maybe you could show up." she smiled.

"Maybe I will." he smiled and opened the door for her. They walked in and practically everyone in the building cheered. Mark rolled his eyes and smiled apologetically to Willow as they walked over to Mark's table.

He noticed a girl with long dark wavy hair that he didn't recognize sitting next to Collins.

"Hey Red. 'Bout time you showed up." she said.

"Hey Faith." Willow offered in return.

"Who's the hottie?" Faith asked, looking at Mark.

"That's Mark." Roger told her. Faith looked at Roger, then back at Mark with new eyes.

"He's your type. Brainy and the like, but I gotta say, Red, surprised me a bit when they said you walked off with some guy." the way she said 'guy' made Mark think twice. Was Willow gay? He cussed at himself. Only he would be so attracted to a lesbian. "Not that Red's ever been exclusive to girls, just lately." Willow looked at her friend, slightly horrified. So, bi? Maybe Mark didn't make a complete ass of himself.

"Faith, you could stop talking anytime now." Willow said. Mark noticed her cheeks looked a little flush, and it wasn't because of the cold.

"Whatever, yo." Faith smiled, a smile, that to Mark, looked very predatory. He shivered a little. "You ready to go?" Willow turned to Mark.

"I'll see you here tomorrow, right?" she asked, hopefully. Mark nodded.

"I'll be here." she smiled a little.

"K, let's go Faith."

"Nice meeting everyone. Collins, I'll talk to you about that thing later." nd with that and another small smile from Willow, they left.

Mark turned towards his friends and groaned, knowing the questions that they'd ask. He hadn't really dated anyone since Maureen, what, three years ago. 'Three years? Already? Shit...' Mark thought to himself. He knew his friends would jump on this like a dog with a bone.

And he wasn't disappointed.

"So, Marky, what's she like?" Maureen asked. He just took his seat next to Roger and didn't say anthing.

"Come on, Mark, you gotta give us something." Joanne urged.

"So, you're seeing her tomorrow. Too bad I have off." Mimi said.

Mark knew if he gave them anything that they'd run with it, never stop asking questions. Call it his last ditch effort to keep Willow to himself, he simply groaned and let his head fall to the table.

"Look, guys, can we not talk about this. It's probably nothing."

"You haven't shown interest in any girls since Maureen. Now that you have, we're curious." Roger stated.

"You heard her friend. She's interested in girls."

"Ah, but she also said she wasn't exclusive." Mimi attempted.

"Because we all know how well that went last time I dated someone not exclusive." Mark stated, pointedly towards Maureen.

"Oh, Mark, you're not still on that are you? That was three _years_ ago. Get over it. Please tell me I haven't ruined some lucky girls chance at catching you." Maureen said, exasperated. Mark rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing his bag.

"I'm going home." he said. He didn't feel like dealing with his friends and their questions at the moment. He had to think. Through all the protests, he said goodbye and left the Café.

* * *

Please review:-D 


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to everyone for reviewing! I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying it!

**cordyangel** - I forgot to reply to your review in the last chapter, so I thought I would here. While Willow was a lesbian at the end of the show, she wasn't at the beginning. Don't be forgetting Oz ;-) I'll get into it a little in this chapter, actually.  
**Captian Insomnia** - Thank you sooooo much for your suggestion to move it to the Buffy crossover side! It was definitely a good idea :-)  
**Cherry Owens** - I do plan on having most of the scooby gang make some kind of an appearence in the not to distant future, so keep an eye out for it :-D  
**Ilse M Jupnur** - Again, thanks for the suggestion to moving it to the Buffy side:-)  
**Indigo Spirit** - Thanks for reading! I'm glad that you decided to try it out, and even more glad that you liked it enough to review! I know technically Willow isn't Jewish anymore, but I figured that since Joss took his own liberties with it (such as Willow still doing things very Jewish, like placing the stones on Tara's gravestone in 'Help'.) Plus, she still has that background  
**Lorne** - Why thank you :-D Thank you very much!  
**Anon** - I talk a bit about where Kennedy went in this chapter. I didn't much care for her, so I got rid of her teehee  
**Serrafina** - All in due time mah dear, all in good time :-)

So, on with the show:-)

* * *

"So...?" Faith asked almost as soon as they left the Café. Willow rolled her eyes. "You comin' back to the fold or what?" 

"Please. We just met."

"And I saw the oogling."

"What oogling? I was there. There was no oogling." Faith just laughed. Truth was, Willow didn't know what to think. She left Kennedy about four months ago. Four months ago she was positive she was gay.

Heck, four hours ago she was positive she was gay. Though now, she couldn't help but think of Oz. She sighed.

There was something about Mark. Something Oz had. Something that triggered a feeling that hasn't been there since Tara.

Sure, they only talked for about 45 minutes, and true, the conversation wasn't exactly deep or profound, but there was some underlying thing there that Willow couldn't explain.

* * *

As Mark rode his bike to the Life the next day, he couldn't help but think if he really wanted this. If he really wanted to take the chance that this could be 'Maureen: The Sequel' 

_'You pretend to create and observe, when you really detach from feeling alive.'_ Rogers words to him a year ago echoed in his mind. Those words have haunted him since Roger said them.

He hated it, but Roger was right. He did his best to change. Even made some headway, involving himself in his friends lives more, but when he thought about it, he didn't really have a life of his own. He just lived vicariously through his friends.

As he parked his bike, he clenched his jaw and opened the door to the Café with a new resolve.

He looked around the room, thankful Mimi wasn't working. He wanted to spend the time with Willow without any of his friends watchful eyes.

He saw her sitting at the same table she was yesterday and walked over to her. She looked up with she sensed his approach and smiled widely when her eyes landed on him.

"Hey Mark, have a seat." Mark returned the smile and set his bag on the bench, sitting down next to it.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Alright. Sorry about Faith last night. She can be kind of...intense if you don't know her." she laughed.

"It's a good thing you left when you did, otherwise you would have seen how intense my friends can be." laughing was easy with Willow, Mark found. "So, what brings you to this side of town?" he asked, conversationally.

"I'm helping out a sibling to one of our students. And Faith has other business down here, so I stick around so we go home together."

"So, are you two...?" Mark stopped and Willow burst out laughing. "Take that as a no?" he said with a smile.

"Big no. I'm single, actually. You?" she took a sip of her tea.

"Same. I hate to admit it, but my last relationship was close to three years ago."

"Yikes, bad ending?"

"You could say that. She broke up with me for a woman."

"Ouch." Mark saw real pity in her eyes. Not the usual laughing pity he got when he told people how his last relationship ended.

"So, what about you?"

"Four months. And I think you'd have to know Kennedy to know why I left her. To make a long story short, she was kind of a brat." Mark laughed a little.

"So, have you dated a lot of girls? Or...?" he asked. Willow shook her head.

"Just two. Though the more I think about it, Kennedy was kind of a rebound, so not sure if she counts. I was going through a bad time when we met and there she was, being all attracted to me, so I just sort of went with it."

"What about the other?" Mark asked, curiously, then regretted it when Willow went to some far away place inside her head.

"Tara." she almost whispered, then she smiled. "She was the love of my life. My soulmate."

"What happened?" Mark asked, then stopped. "Sorry, that's not really any of my business."

"It's alright." she said, giving Mark that small smile she always seemed to have. "She died."

"I'm so sorry." Mark said, sincerely.

"She was hit by a stray bullet meant for my best friend." Willow said to the unasked question.

"Oh my god."

"Who knew living in a place called Sunnydale would be as scary as living in New York." She said sadly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." Mark started, but Willow cut him off by putting her hand on his, her small smile back. She shook her head.

"Don't be sorry. It's nice to talk about it. It helps." Mark smiled. "So, what about you? Did you go to hating women when your girlfriend dumped you?" Mark laughed.

"No. Looking back on it, the time after Maureen left, I was still in love with her, though I never would admit it at the time. But I'm over her now, and she's still with Joanne. I'm actually friends with both of them now."

"Wow. And I thought my group of friends was filled with drama." they laughed.

"Guess there's enough drama to go around."

"Too true."

"Okay, to the less emotional...you said you teach?"

"Yeah, computer skills mostly, but I'm sort of in charge so I do other things."

"In charge?" Willow blushed modestly.

"I guess I'm what you could call the Dean. Sort of."

"Impressive." Mark said. "What was the name of the school agian?"

"The Tara McLay WCI School for Girls."

"Tara? Is that the...?"

"Yes. We figured one of our schools had to be named after her, to honor her."

"Your schools?" again, she smiled modestly.

"My friends, colleagues, and I started the school, and others around the world."

"Wow. I'm getting more and more impressed by the second." she laughed lightly. They continued to talk. About everything. About nothing. Not realizing the time passing until Faith showed up a little after one.

They exchanged phone numbers and reluctantly said goodbye.

* * *

Alright, let me know what you think:-D 


	4. Chapter 4

**Indigo Spirit** - I will most likely get into the subject of Warren, and probably a little about Faith's indescrestions. I've actually had bits and peices of that conversation in my head so I'll just have to see when the right time to get into is :-) 

**Ilse M Jupnur** - Teehee couldn't help myself. Hope you enjoy!

**A.N.** - Thanks for reading! I have to say, I'm rather enjoying the new influx of RENT/BTVS stories. Makes me happy :-D

* * *

"How was your night?" Willow asked Faith on the walk to the subway. 

"You know how it goes. How was yours? Looking to get groiny with him yet?"

"Oh yeah. We have plans for tomorrow night, want in?" Willow said sarcastically.

"Nah. His friend Collins, however..." she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"He's gay, you know."

"Never stopped me before."

"And he has HIV." Faith stopped for a moment.

"I'd still do him." Willow laughed.

"And what about Robin?"

"I never said I was going to, just said I would." Good ol' reliable Faith. Always can trust her to do the wrong thing. "So, when are you two gonna go at it?"

"Do things always move so fast in your world?"

"Gotta. Life swings by too fast for the slayer type."

Willow was more confused than ever about Mark. Talking to him was easier than she expected. Easy enough to surprise herself. Rarely was she so open about Tara.

"So, the gangs getting together for Christmas?" Faith asked, the previous conversation forgotten in the silence.

"Yup. And it's here, if you didn't know. I just hope the school is ready for everyone by then. We'll only be open six months by then."

"You're ready for the students, why not the Scoobies?"

"Housing and schooling 40 girls is different than having a party where the gang is involved. Less chaos. Especially when you take into account our history with parties."

"You guys do throw a mean shindig." Faith laughed. "You inviting Mark?"

"Why would I?"

"Show off your new beau." Willow just rolled her eyes.

"Hey, wanna cut your patrol short tomorrow?" Faith shrugged.

"Haven't seen much the past few days. A few vamp attacks here and there. I probably could. Why?"

"Mark invited me to hang out with him and his friends. He said you could come too."

"Sounds like wild fun. I'm in."

* * *

The next day, Willow arrived at the Life a little after seven after her appointment with Celine. 

She had been helping Celine, the sister of one of the slayers, cope with AIDS using magick. Nothing else was working for the poor girl, treatment, medication, nothing. Until Willow stepped in, it was likely Celine would have died within the month.

Though there was no magick that Willow knew about to cure HIV, she aided the girl though her bout with AIDS, and Celine was getting better.

Another week of Willow's visits and Celine might be in the clear, at least for awhile.

Her visits with Celine made Willow feel sort of euphoric and exhausted. Working so deep in magick, magick that was good, had that effect on her.

Nothing like what she got from Rack.

No.

This was clean and wonderful. And she didn't need it to get through a day.

Not too unlike what she felt after casting the Potential spell.

Willow always grounded herself, and rested after her meetings, it took an hour with Celine's case, but the good feeling inside her core always remained. Much like an aftertaste that eventually fades on its own.

She smiled when she saw Mark among the vaguely familiar faces of his friends. His eye caught hers and he grinned behind his glasses, jumping up to greet her and lead her to their table. Mark introduced everyone and they all gave a little wave at their name.

"So, Willow. Tell us about yourself. Mark has been less than forthcoming about details." Maureen started. Willow looked at Mark, who looked positively embarrassed. It endured him to Willow even more.

"Well, what do you want to know? Myself is kind of a vague topic."

"Mark said you lived in that town that fell into the sinkhole. What was that like?" Mimi asked.

"What? Living there, or leaving there. Cause, gotta say, both not so great."

"What was it called again? Sunny something..." Maureen waved her hand in the air as she tried to think of the name.

"Sunnyhell." came a voice from behind Willow announcing Faith's arrival. Willow turned to her and her eyes widened when she saw something green and slimy on Faith's shirt oozing down to her pants. Willow got up quickly and went to her friend.

"You do realize you have the slime of some kind of demon all over you, don't you?" She asked in a hushed voice. Faith inspected her clothes.

"Oh yeah. Got in a fight with a wicked nasty demon. Turns out it was the kind that turn to goo when you kill 'em."

"Well, what are you going to tell them?" Faith shrugged.

"I'll think of something." Willow gave her a slightly nervous look. Those were never good words coming from Faith. A worried noise escaped from Willow's throat as Faith made her way over to the table and she followed, sitting next to Mark.

"Whoa. What happened to you?" Collins asked. Willow took a sip of the tea Mark ordered for her as she awaited the story. Faith looked down at her clothes.

"Oh, that. Got in a fight with a demon."

Willow coughed, successfully allowing the rest of the liquid to flow down into her lungs, causing her to fall into a coughing fit. Mark and the gang looked at her worriedly, and she held her hand up to indicate she was fine as the coughing faded, the liquid eradicated from her lungs. She glared at Faith, who smiled.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked. One last cough.

"I'm fine." She offered him a smile.

Luckily everyone forgot Faith's comment. Either that or they assumed she was joking, and it wasn't brought up. Instead they started regaling the events of earlier in the evening at Maureen's most recent protest that, from what Willow had deduced, was a great success.

Faith began telling non-demon stories about before Willow met her, though she had heard before. Willow bit back a smile when she realized in one of the stories Faith had changed the demon into a drugged up sex fiend, which wasn't too far off the mark. She had to laugh at her friends ability to catch the attention of all six of the people sitting around the table, not too unlike when she heard the stories for the first time.

"So, where did you two meet?" she heard Mimi ask, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Willow met Faith's eyes.

"Um...Faith moved to Sunnydale in my senior year of high school. We just sort of fell into the same crowd." Willow explained, deciding not to lie completely, just leave out some of the truths.

"Wow. And you've been friends ever since?" Mark asked.

Another look to Faith. Friends, mortal enemies. Oh, what a fine line differs the two.

"Sort of." Willow answered. _'Except when she tried to kill me. Or the time when she tried to kill my friends. Or when she helped the mayor turn into a giant worm that tried to eat my graduating class.'_ she forced a smile.

"Oh yeah! Me and Red are old buds. Best of friends." Faith lied easily, giving Willow a slightly cheesy smile.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

TBC :-D Please review! Reviews buy you faster updates...teehee  



	5. Chapter 5

**Indigo Spirit** - LoL glad you enjoyed it. I've been trying to keep things a little slower, because I have a habit of speeding things up in my stories. I'll keep a better eye on that :-)  
**Joanne** - I'm glad you decided to check out my story, even if you don't know about RENT. (which, by the way...you should check out. Best musical ever.) :-D  
**Ilse M Jupnur** - Thanks again for reading!  
**Average Everyday Sane Psycho** - It might be a little while in the future before I let the secret get out. Like I said to Indigo, I want to take things a little slower than I usually do. But it definitely will be interesting :-D

---------

"So, what do you think?" Mark asked Willow. They had decided to take advantage of the slightly warmer weather and take a walk a little later that night.

"You're friends are great. Reminds me a bit of my friends, actually. Not in the whole reminding me of them, but in the way you guys interact. More like a family." Willow rambled, making Mark smile. "Sorry. I ramble."

"No, it's cute." he said, making her look away embarrassed. "Faith and Collins seem to get along good." he mentioned.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. You told me Collins was an anarchist."

"Yeah, he is a bit of one." Mark laughed a little, glancing over to her as they walked.

"Let's just say Faith isn't one to follow social norms."

"I kinda got that from her stories. Did she really wrestle an aligator completely naked"  
he asked.

"You're gonna have to take her word on that one. That was before she moved to Sunnydale. But it wouldn't surprise me." they laughed together and fell into a comfortable silence.

Lots of things were going through Mark's mind. They had only known each other for a few days and already Mark felt himself falling for her, hestitantly, of course, but it was still there. As much as he hated to admit it, Maureen scarred him, but he was determined to get past it.

"So, film anything good today?" Willow broke the silence.

"A few things. But I still don't have a focus for another documentary."

"You'll find something." she said, giving him a reassuring smile, which he returned doubtfully. It's been a year since 'Today 4 U' was finished. He had hoped that something else would present itself, but so far, nothing. "It's hard though. To find something new in the same environment. Almost impossible."

"E-flat, diminished ninth." he heard Willow whisper with a smile.

"What?"

"E-flat, diminished ninth." she repeated, and Mark looked at her confused when she didn't elaborate. She laughed.

"My ex-boyfriend's life ambition was to be able to play e-flat, diminished ninth on his guitar. 'A man's chord' he called it. Also that it was impossible. You talked about doing something impossible, and it reminded me of that."

"Boyfriend?" Mark inquired.

"I didn't always date girls, Mark. My first relationship was with a guy named Oz."

"As in the great and powerful?"

"As in Daniel Osbourne. Oz. We dated for about two years."

"And what happened with that? Did you find Tara?" she gave him a look.

"Not every girl leaves their boyfriends for a girl, you know. I met Tara a few months after he left." she said. Mark wasn't embarrassed. He didn't meant it like it sounded.

"Well?" he asked again.

"He left. He was having some problems he needed to work out and he went to find himself. Last I heard he was in Tibet studying with monks. I don't even know if he knows about Sunnydale. I would assume not, since I haven't heard from him yet. I'm rambling again, aren't I?" she smiled. Mark laughed. "Ok, so what about you? I've told you all about my relationships and I've only heard about Maureen."

"It's sorta only been Maureen." Mark admitted, "I know it's hard to believe, but I was kind of a geek in high school." they laughed. "Always behind my camera. It's hard to meet girls when all you do is witness the life of your classmates instead of being a part of it." he said somberly.

"I hear ya. Xander and I were definitely the geeks of Sunnydale High. Until Buffy showed up and brought me out of my shell. Even though I was still a geek, I cared less about it."

Mark gave her a smile, and dared to take her hand into his. When she didn't pull away he interlaced his fingers with hers.

"Kindred spirits."

They walked again in silence, neither having anything pressing to say. They ended up back at the Life, but were reluctant to go in just yet.

"So, you coming back tomorrow?"

"Actually, no. I'm taking a few of the students to Central Park. A chance to get away from classes."

"That sounds fun." Willow looked hesitant before she spoke.

"Y..you could come. If you wanted. We're spending the whole day out there."

Mark smiled. "Sure. I'll be there."

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I know, I know! It's short, but I had to break through some writers block to get this scene out. I hope you all enjoy, and please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! Sorry about the long delay! I got a little busy. Work and stuff. And there was something else...oh yeah! I went to see RENT this weekend! First time seeing it on broadway and I'm in love with it. I'm already looking into seeing it in New York when I go to DC in July haha

**Indigo Spirit** - I'm so glad that you're enjoying this!

**The Cardboard Moon** - Thanks for reading!

**BookJunkie10** - Oh, I definitely agree!

* * *

The next day, Mark got off the subway near Central Park and made his way to the area Willow told him they'd be. It didn't take long to spot the small group of girls seperated from everyone else.

He recognized Willow and Faith right away and he assumed the other four girls were students.

As he got closer he realized they were doing some form of martial arts kata. He got his camera out and started filming, hoping they wouldn't mind. He walked around them, filming from every angle, and he noticed that none of the girls even took note of his presence.

The students couldn't be more than 16 or 17, one of them even looked as young as 14. They all moved through the exersizes with an amazing grace.

Mark was fascinated.

Another thing Mark noticed was how different the girls all were from each other.

The first girl was tall and lanky with chin length black hair. Her clothes told him she probably had a bit of money. He was sure he saw that track jacket at a store on 5th Avenue when he was working for Buzzline.

The girl next to her was short. Probably barely hit five feet. Her hair was shaved on both sides, leaving a strip of long blonde hair down the middle, the ends dyed bright pink. He briefly wondered if she ever stuck it straight up in a mohawk. She had several peircings in each ear. Her jeans were a size or two too big and a chain hung from her hip.

The girl next to her couldn't have been more different. She had dark chocolate skin and curly hair, pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her clothes were stylish and her makeup neatly done. She looked a little older than the other girls. Maybe 18 or 19 even.

The next girl, however, looked the youngest of the bunch. She had longish curly brown hair and her clothes spoke of someone that grew up in the east village. Mark thought it was interesting that she moved with the same agility as the others, dispite her younger age.

They were all so different, Mark found it hard to believe they were part of the same group.

He turned his camera on Faith. She moved with an air of experience the others didn't have. Like she'd been doing it longer. After pausing on Faith for another minute, he focused his camera on Willow.

She moved with the same beauty as the others, but there was something different about Willow's movements. Mark couldn't put his finger on it. Her eyes, though open,held this far away look in them. He was watching her as they ended the kata, pausing at the end in the same position, breathing in unison.

Then Willow's face brightened with a smile when her eyes focused on him.

"Mark! You made it!" she exclaimed.

"I made it." he said, returning her smile.

"This is Mark?" "_The_ Mark?" "You're Mark?" "He's cute." a chorus of four girls came from behind Willow. Mark felt his face flush. She talked about him? Willow's face began to turn an interesting shade of red.

"We live in a school with 40 teenage girls. Word gets around fast." Faith explained.

"Mark, this is Sadie, Cas, Megan, and Jen." Willow introduced.

"Can we see your movies?" Jen, the youngest, asked excitedly.

"Can I see your camera?" Cas asked, eyeing Mark's camera, her blonde/pink hair falling into her face. Willow looked at them, exasperated. Mark couldn't help but smile a little. Faith just grinned.

"Come on, girls. Let's leave the two lovebirds alone. Let's go for a run." Faith said. Reluctantly the girls followed Faith, leaving Mark and Willow alone.

"They're quite the bunch." Mark commented.

"Yeah, we get a big mix of girls at the school."

"What was that you were doing? It was beautiful. I hope you don't mind that I filmed it."

"It was a Tai Chi kata. And honestly I didn't even notice you were there until the end."

"You did look pretty focused." They sat down on a blanket Willow laid out.

"Actually, could I get a copy of that?"

"Sure. Where did you learn that?"

"In England."

"It looks relaxing"

"It is. I learned it right after Tara died. It really helped a lot. Helped me focus on getting through it." Mark gave her a supportive smile, his had instinctively going to her knee in comfort, leaving it there when Willow didn't object. She talked about that time after Tara died, though vaguely. Mark was curious as to what happened.

He had a feeling it was more than depression, but he didn't have the heart or the nerve to bring it up. Nor did he think it was any of his business.

"So, you guys just come here to do Tai Chi, or what?"

Willow smiled. "The girls tend to have a lot of excess energy, so on the weekends we come here to burn it. This'll probably be the last weekend this year though. It's starting to get too cold." Mark laughed at what Willow considered cold. It was nearly 60 degrees out.

"Kiss him already!" a yell came an they both looked to see the girls and Faith hiding behind a large tree, peeking out towards them.

"Some things that should remain **private.**" Willow said, yelling the word 'private' in emphasis. Mark laughed and caught Willow's eyes. If it wasn't for their audience he might have leaned in and taken their advice. The girls came to join them.

"I'm starved." Sadie said, opening the cooler that was off to the side of the blanket.  
Jen, Cas, Megan, and Faith started digging things out. Pre-made sandwiches, two bags of chips, several water bottles, and assorted fruits and vegetables.

Mark automatically picked up his camera and started filming. The girls immediately started hamming it up, waving and smiling at the camera. Sadie even stuck her tongue out, her mouth full of food. Chaos continued to ensue as the girls talked and laughed, eating all the food they had brought with.

Mark got it all on film. He had found his new inspiration.

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Hope you liked it! Oh, and check out my new little one shot, Almost Perfect, about Mark and Maureen, preRENT! (shameless self promoter ha) 


	7. Chapter 7

Hey! Long time no update, I know. But before the rock throwing commences, let me explain. I lost the Internet and was unable to update this regularly. But rest assured. I have a couple chapters written and as soon as I get them typed up they'll be ready to be put up. Thank you for continuing to read and I apologize for the extreamly long delay!

And I realize this is kinda short, but bear with me :)

Willow shuffled papers on her desk, looking for a specific peice of documentation. She couldn't have lost it. It was some information on one of the newer girls. She had a meeting later that day with her parents and she needed that file.

These days the new Council worked with the families, if the girls choose as such. Some don't. Some choose to live like their slayer ancestors, in secret. They decided to leave it up to the discretion of the girls.

Willow let out a cry of frustration just as the phone rang. It took her a second to realize it was her cell phone and she looked at the caller ID, smiling when she saw Buffy's name.

"Hey Wil." Buffy greeted when Willow answered.

"Hey. How's Vancouver?"

"Settling down. We just had an issue with a vamp nest on the north side of town. Other than that, it's Dullsville. How did you get so lucky with New York?"

Willow laughed. "Because Faith was here already and they didn't want both senior slayers in the same place. Besides it also meant dealing with Cleveland."

"Oh yeah. How's that going, by the way?"

"We got Vi and Rona over there making sure things don't get out of hand. Faith checks it out once a week or so." Willow told her.

"Speaking of Faith. I talked to her the other day. Said you were going after some hottie."

"Leave it to Faith to stick her nose where it doesn't belong." Willow grumbled.

"Well? Who is he?"

"His name is Mark."

"Like that's all I'm going to let you get away with." Buffy said when Willow didn't elaborate. "What's he look like?  
What does he do? Details are needed."

Willow laughed. "I remember when I got my vicarious smoochies through you."

"Ooo! So there's been smooching?"

"No," Willow paused. "Unfortunately." It took until Willow said it out loud to realize it was true. She was falling for the filmmaker. "But it's hard. I've never been with anyone who didn't know everything."

"What about Oz?"

"Doesn't count. Vampires on the first date. Remember?"

"Have you thought about telling Mark?"

"Right. Cause having him run screaming for the hills will be great for our relationship."

"Have a little faith in him. He is a New Yorker. He's used to a certain kind of evil."

"I don't know. I don't even know if anything will come of it."

"Oh, come on, Wil."

"He wants to film the girls." Willow said, eager to change the subject.

"What do you mean, film?"

"Mark makes documentaries."

"You mean like Andrew?" Willow heard the laugh in her friend's voice.

"Hardly. Mark's actually good. Or at least not annoying. I haven't seen any of his work yet."

"Well, what did you tell him?"

"I told him I'd have to talk to the higher ups."

"Wil, you do realize you are a higher up?"

"I know, but I told him that to buy sometime so I could think about it."

"What's to think about? It'd be great to have an excuse not to show the parents Andrew's version of what he calls a documentary when signing girls up for the school."

"Because having him do it would involve telling him everything. I'm not ready for that yet. I want to spend some more time with him. Try to gauge how he'd react."

"Well, keep me updated. I gotta run. Got a class."

"Okay. I have a meeting with Lindsay Jackson's parents in a few minutes and I think I lost her file."

"You? Lose something? I doubt it. It's probably in your top drawer. But I'll catch you later." Willow said goodbye and hung up.

She started going through her papers again before she stopped. She eyed her top drawer for a second before opening it. She rolled her eyes.

On top, was the file she was looking for.

-----------

Mark wiped his camera lens with an old rag. Several camera peices covered half the table in front of him. He cleaned his camera thouroughly at least once every couple weeks. It wasn't easy keeping the antiqued camera in solid working order. But he refused to get a new one.

That, and he couldn't afford one.

"So, Mark. This thing with Willow? It going anywhere?" Roger asked from the couch as he plucked meaningless notes on his guitar.

The new Well Hungarians had a gig that night. Mark couldn't help but smile at the thought that the old Roger was coming back.

Roger, pre-drugs, pre-April. Pre-HIV.

"Slowly. Maybe. I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I really like her. And we talk a lot. About everything."

"So what's not to know?"

"She just seems sort of focused with the school right now. She probably wouldn't want to start anything with anyone anyway."

"Have you asked her?" Roger asked, guitar set to the side.

"Well. No."

"Mark."

"I know." And he did. If he wanted anything to come of the relationship with Willow, he'd have to take some initiative. She seemed interested enough, but he couldn't help but think she was hiding something. From the way she said it, Mark was sure she lied about needing to talk to her superiors about him filming the school.

He just couldn't figure out why she would.

"Well, are you going to see her again?"

"Yeah. I'm meeting her at the Life again tonight."

"Then ask her out. Somewhere other than the Life."

"And where am I supposed to take her with the spare change and ball of lint in my pocket."

"You'll think of something. You're an artist. Be creative." Roger leaned back into the couch and began plucking strings again.

Creative. Mark could do that.


	8. Chapter 8

Faster is better, yes? lol Enjoy! R&R

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Mark had called Willow up earlier in the day to see if she'd be interested in going somewhere other than the Life after her appointment with her client. She had said yes, of course, so here he was setting up his projector in the living room of the loft.

Willow had mentioned on more than one occasion that she wanted to see 'Today 4 U', and Mark figured this would be a perfect opportunity. He'd managed to convince Roger to stay down at Mimi's for the night (of course, convincing him wasn't exactly hard.)

Mark had hoped that inviting Willow back up to the loft wouldn't seem to forward, but she seemed alright with it when he asked her. He plugged the projector in and hoped that the power wouldn't go out while Willow was here. He looked around the room. He had cleaned up a bit and put a clean (albeit clean-ish) sheet over the duct tape ridden couch.

He was satisfied with the way the loft looked. It wasn't immaculate, but he figured the loft didn't really have the potential to be that clean, so he just went with what he had.

Mark grabbed his bag and bike and headed to the Life.

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Willow paused a minute in her typing to cover a yawn and take a sip from her coffee. There was a sudden uprising in deaths by strange neck wounds in the area and she was doing what she could to research it. She had been up all night working on this. A couple of the girls were out patrolling and Faith was trying to get information from the local demon haunts. Willow's job was to see if anything from past news articles might indicate the reason for the increase in vampire activity.

What was interesting was that she couldn't find anything. Nothing. Nada. There was no supporting evidence that said there had been any kind of vampire activity ever in the history of New York. Now, seeing as how she knew for a fact that vampires had been in New York in the past, she found it odd. Nikki Wood had been stationed here in the 70's and would never have been if there wasn't a significant undead population. Normally, vampiric activity would be documented, usually with one or more of the typical "logical" reasons. But there were no "Man stabbed by barbeque fork" or "Woman suffers neck rupture".

Willow couldn't find a single thing that sounded like it might be some kind of vampire attack. It just didn't make sense.

"Hey." She heard a familiar voice behind her. She quickly, casually closed her laptop and turned to greet Mark.

"Hey Mark." she smiled. She wasn't sure why she agreed to hang out with him tonight, what with everything that was going on, but when he asked she just couldn't bring herself to say no. She enjoyed spending time with the filmmaker. She gestured for him to join her.

"Coffee, huh?"

"Ugh. Yeah. Long night last night." Willow detested coffee, but when the after-effects of her meeting with Celine started to wear off, she defintely needed the caffiene.

"I suppose, running a school can be pretty tough." Mark said. She smiled at his ignorance.

"You don't know the half of it."

"Ready to go? There are a couple places I wanted to take you before we headed to the loft."

"Yeah. Just let me pack up my computer and we can be off." Willow grabbed her laptop and shoved it in her bag and took one last drink of her coffee. She reached into her pocket and threw a couple of bills onto the table. Suddenly the door of the café flew open. Faith entered, looking a little out of breath sporting a cut on her arm and Willow's heart sank.

"Hey Red. Sorry to interupt your little tryst, but I gotta talk to you."

"What's up?" Willow asked, hoping futilely it wouldn't be what she knew it was.

"New developments." Faith said. Willow looked at Mark, who looked utterly confused.

"I'll be right back. We can leave in a minute." Mark nodded, the look of disconcert still covering his features as he sat in the booth that Willow had just exited. Willow followed Faith outside.

"What happened?" Willow asked, indicating Faith's wound.

"Difficulties negotiating information. Handled him though."

"What did you find out?" Willow asked anxiously.

"According to my sources, a gang of vampires sets up shop in the east village every couple decades or so. Last time they were here was when Robin's mom was posted here."

"What did you find out about the gang?"

"Just that they're big, they're ruthless, and the police let them do whatever they want, so long as they stay in the east village, feeding on the homeless. Sounds like they've been doing it for the last hundred years or so."

"Just how big?"

"Couldn't get an exact number, but large. Over 50 vamps maybe."

"Do we know where they stay during the day?"

Faith shook her head. "They don't stay in the same place twice, so it's hard to get a location pinpointed. That's where you come in."

Willow glanced at the door of the café and sighed. Her date would have to wait. "Alright. Let me just go say goodbye to Mark."

Faith waited outside as Willow walked back through the café door. Mark stood up when he saw her and Willow figured it was written all over her face that she was about to cancel, because Mark's face fell.

"Is Faith okay?" Mark asked.

"What? Oh, yeah, the cut. Yeah. She's fine. Look, Mark, I really hate to do this but I'm going to have to take a raincheck. There are some things that I really need to take care of at the school."

Mark sighed and nodded. "Another time then."

"I'm really sorry. I was looking forward to spending time with you and seeing your documentary."

"I know. Go. Attend to your students. This can wait." Mark said, sounding defeated and understanding at the same time.

"I'll call you when I can. I promise." Willow smiled and received a small one back.

She turned to leave, stopped and turned back, giving Mark a goodbye kiss, before finally leaving with a smile on her face.


End file.
